Free The Moon's Shadow by Catherine Asaro Page A

notice him. He could get away with some “eccentricity” because everyone knew he had grown up in isolation, but he kept as low a profile as possible.
    It had shaken Jai deeply to discover that the emperor’s personal EI, or Evolving Intelligence, answered to “Tomjolt.” His father had named it. Jai suspected he was the only one who understood its significance. Tomjolts were animals on the world Prism, where Jai’s family had lived in exile. The symbolism gave Jai a grim satisfaction; a tomjolt was the top predator in the food chain there. His father must have christened this EI in defiance, after he had been ripped away from his family and forced to become a puppet emperor.
    “May I help you?” Tomjolt asked.
    Jai shook himself out of his reverie. “Yes. What is the latest news on the provider who escaped from Minister Iquar?”
    “ESComm is increasing the search volume in the region where he is believed likely to cross into Skolian space.”
    Jai frowned. Nothing about this had been in the report sent to him a few hours ago by Azile Xir, the Intelligence Minister. “And what region might that be?”
    Tomjolt described the Skolian border territory that had been closest to Minister Iquar’s habitat at the time Kelric escaped. It seemed unlikely he could evade capture; the searchers would detect his ship as soon as it dropped into normal space. Had the fugitive been anyone else, Jai would have assumed, like ESComm, that he would run for home. But Kelric was a Jagernaut; he probably knew how ESComm would search. Even if he had the foresight not to head for the border, though, he had very few choices, given how little fuel his stolen ship carried.
    “Have they found any trace of him yet?” Jai asked.
    “None.” The EI’s blunt response was a welcome change. Jai wondered if other Hightons programmed their computers to speak plainly.
    “Show me the volume of space where Minister Iquar’s habitat was when her provider escaped,” Jai said.
    “Done.”
    A holomap appeared, rotating to display different views of space. According to the glyphs scrolling below the image, a few Eubian settlements were within range of Kelric’s ship, but none he could safely approach. Removing slave restraints wasn’t easy, given how they linked to the nervous system. Anyone Kelric contacted would recognize him as a provider and take him into custody. He might find an empty asteroid or rogue world, but his food and air wouldn’t last long.
    Jai studied the maps. Kelric could also reach several military bases, including the one where ESComm was keeping the stolen Lock. That would do him no good, either, though. As a Jagernaut, he might possibly escape from such a base, but entering one would be crazy, especially the one with the Lock, given how ESComm could use his mind if they caught him.
    Jai pushed his hand through his hair. He wished he knew if the fugitive really was Kelric. Would he act as ESComm expected? They didn’t know Kelric was a Ruby Key. In that, Jai had an advantage, being a Key himself. He tried to imagine how he would act if he were a prisoner of ESComm. Thoughts of Corbal came to mind; if his cousin suspected Jai was a Key, his willingness to trade Eldrin made a lot of sense. But if he believed Jai would use the Lock to conquer Skolia and enslave his own family, the Ruby Dynasty, Corbal was out of his allegedly esteemed mind. Jai would do anything to avoid such a fate, even take his own life.
    And Kelric?
    Suddenly Jai knew what his uncle had done.
     
    Some called Admiral Xirad Kaliga a shadow. His black uniform had no ornamentation, medals, sash, or piping, nothing except the red braid on his cuffs that denoted his rank. Gaunt of feature and narrow in the face, he appeared—at first glance—ordinary. But that fooled no one who knew him. Few could match his razor-sharp intellect; none could claim his combination of exalted bloodlines, family influence, education, and cold-blooded military brilliance.
    Kaliga